Shale resource plays are associated with low permeability, and hence hydraulic fracturing is required for their stimulation and production. Even though considerable nonuniqueness exists in identifying favorable zones for hydraulic fracturing, geophysicists seem to be avid followers of Rickman et al.’s (2008), brittleness criteria of low Poisson’s ratio and high Young’s modulus, proposed a decade ago. In this study, we highlight the challenges in following such a criterion, and propose a new attribute that makes use of strain energy density and fracture toughness. While the former controls fracture initiation, the propagation of fractures is governed by the latter. As hydraulic fracturing comprises both these properties, we firmly believe that the new proposed attribute could be used to highlight the favorable intervals for fracturing. Core data, well-log curves along with mud-logs have been used to authenticate the proposed attribute. Finally, we implement it on the seismic data and observe encouraging results.
Presentation Date: Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Session Start Time: 1:50 PM
Presentation Start Time: 3:30 PM
Location: 217A
Presentation Type: Oral
